Calorie labeling rules at NYC restaurants postponed until spring

New York City has delayed new rules requiring restaurants to include calorie counts on menus until at least spring.

Lawmakers agreed to postpone the requirements in response to a lawsuit.

The rule would require restaurants, convenience stores and other establishments to post calorie counts for food.

The Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to put its own rules on calorie labeling into effect in May.

The National Association of Convenience Stores sued to stop the city from enforcing its version of the rule ahead of the federal regulation.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice filed legal papers on behalf of the FDA, asking a judge to block the city from enforcing the law requiring some stores serving prepared foods to post calorie information where the foods are sold.

“FDA intends to utilize the authority given to it by Congress to craft uniform national standards for food labeling,” said agency spokeswoman Jennifer Corbett Dooren.

The National Association of Convenience Stores is challenging the rules in court, arguing that provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care bill called for national standards and that enforcement by local municipalities violates that law.

The FDA and New York City have similar calorie labeling requirements, but the FDA said earlier this year it would delay implementation until May 2018.(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)